Behind The Code

Occasionally the Technical Community Network group sits down with some of Microsoft’s most influential technical employees to capture their stories. Instead of examining specific technologies, BTC takes a closer look at the person, the career and what it takes to produce world-class software. Join the Friends of Behind the Code Facebook group.

It seems as though all of us are actively trying to cram more and more features, functionality, and speed out of everything we use. While the world seems faster paced today than it ever has been in the past, the quest for performance and efficiency is as old as recorded history, and almost certainly…

At the heart of every computer, every operating system, every problem, is an engineer. An engineer may not live the glorious rock-star life of your favorite musician, but it is through their efforts that the complex systems, that are more and more significant in our lives, are able to work. …

At a certain level, computers are all about giving computational power and resources to the common man. Even though many of you may not remember it, it wasn't that long ago when computers were tools which could only be afforded by the very largest of companies. Today however; computers are a…

When thinking about businesses, large or small, it can be easy to lose sight of the individual. For the individuals within those companies, it can be difficult to see the role they play in the big picture and how their personal journey might fit in. For individuals outside those companies, also…

From something as simple as a paperclip to far more complex machines such as computers, there are a wide variety of machines forming a regular part of our daily lives. None, however, come close to the complexity found in the machine that is the human being.When you think of Microsoft, you might…

Over thousands of years, language has evolved in order to provide mankind a mechanism for making it easier to communicate with one another. Today, the world is filled with a wide variety of languages, some of which are radically different from one another,
while others bear striking…

Nick Baker is General Manager for Xbox Architectural Design. After graduating from Imperial College London in 1990, he found his way to Apple and worked on the team that tried to create a specialized video card. He then went to 3DO where he worked on their
high-end gaming system, which…

Microsoft is well known for Windows, Office, .NET, Xbox, Zune and a long list of other products and technologies.
Less discussed however, is a group at Microsoft that isn’t necessarily focused on ship dates, packaging, or competing products. Instead they think about how computers and technology…

Artists embody a diverse set of talents and interests. This gives them a rich array of experiences to draw upon in their work. In the same way, Richard Ward brings an eclectic background and collection of interests to his efforts at Microsoft. He brings
this diversity to his own art of…

In the often male dominated world of computers, Rebecca Norlander has made a name for herself by taking on big challenges, and proving she has what it takes to deliver results. Join us to learn how Rebecca got her start at Microsoft, advancing through roles
where she had tremendous impact on…